Chargers-Dolphins: Quarter-by-quarter recap

Key plays: The Dolphins reached Chargers territory on their first two drives, but the first ended when Chad Henne was hit by Donald Butler as he threw and the pass sailed to rookie Marcus Gilchrist, who made his first NFL interception. Henne was hurt on Miami’s next possession (left shoulder), but Matt Moore came in and his first pass covered 31 yards to Charles Clay to the San Diego 20. Miami had one TD, a 4-yard run by Lex Hilliard correctly overturned on review, and Hilliard’s following 1-yard TD run probably should have been reversed but wasn’t. The Chargers went nowhere on their first two drives but covered 80 yards on three Philip Rivers passes for a tying TD, which came on an overthrown pass that a diving Vincent Jackson caught and carried into the end zone.

Key stats: The Chargers had 0 first downs and 9 yards on their first two drives, then covered 80 yards in 3 plays. Miami finished the quarter with 7 first downs and 121 yards.

Not in the box score: Continuing what seems to be the longest-running trend in the NFL, the Chargers’ first play from scrimmage was a run up the middle. Seriously, they can’t try a play-action pass just once?

SECOND QUARTER

Chargers 13, Dolphins 10

Key plays: Another long pass from Rivers to Jackson, this one 42 yards, set up another Chargers score, but they might have had more than a field goal if not for Jeromey Clary shoving a Miami defender after a run by Mike Tolbert would have given the Chargers a second-and-goal at the 6. The penalty pushed the Chargers back to the 21 and they had to settle for a field goal. A poor special teams play cost the Chargers (sound familiar?) near the end of the half; they allowed a 22-yard punt return plus Richard Goodman was penalized for staying out of bounds too long while covering the punt. That allowed Miami to “drive” 2 yards for a tying field goal. San Diego moved into position for Nick Novak to kick a 48-yard field goal thanks to a 19-yard pass to Tolbert and a 15-yard run by Rivers, equaling the longest run of his career.

Key stats: Despite their slow start, the Chargers finished the half with 221 yards to 156 for Miami. Rivers was 14 of 19 for 191 yards, with Jackson catching 3 for 108.

Not in the box score: The Chargers ran on their first two first-down plays. They passed on their next five and Rivers went 5-for-5 for 133 yards and a TD. Of course, they were probably just setting up Miami with those first two plays, right?

THIRD QUARTER

Chargers 23, Dolphins 13

Key plays: After Brandon Marshall’s drop ended Miami’s first possession, the Chargers drove 54 yards to extend their lead to 10. A 20-yard pass to Vincent Brown on third-and-15 and a 42-yard screen pass to Ryan Mathews set up Mike Tolbert's 1-yard TD dive. The Chargers nearly came up with an interception on their next defensive series, but Eric Weddle’s pick was nullified by a pass interference call against Gilchrist, and Miami wound up with a field goal. The Chargers nearly had to punt on their next drive, but they appeared to get a break when Yeremiah Bell was called for interference on a pass that appeared uncatchable. San Diego was able to get a third field goal by Novak with 1:15 left.

Key stats: The Chargers finished the period with a 338-213 advantage in total yards.

Not in the box score: The Chargers kept losing players in the quarter, with Donald Butler and Antonio Garay both leaving with injuries. Garay would return.

FOURTH QUARTER

Chargers 26, Dolphins 16

Key plays: Miami finished out its drive to end the third quarter with a 51-yard field goal that cut the lead back to 7, but the Chargers responded with a 7-minute drive of their own that resulted in Novak’s fourth field goal of the game, a 38-yarder with 4:28 to play. The biggest plays on the drive were a 7-yard scramble by Rivers on third-and-7, passes of 10 and 17 yards to Randy McMichael, and an 11-yarder to Floyd on third-and-8 when the team was on the edge of field goal range. Miami’s final chance ended when Eric Weddle intercepted Moore near midfield with 2:53 to play.

Key stat: The Chargers had the only two takeaways of the game, both on interceptions, marking the first time this season they finished a game with a) zero turnovers and b) fewer turnovers than their opponent.

Not in the box score: The Chargers improved to 3-1 for the first time with Norv Turner as their head coach.